It's a knockout!!

[Phantom 631]

Some of you know that I've not been too well last week with this and that and I was unable to compete in the THL fun weekend shooting due to a undiagnosed problem with my right arm leaving me virtually unable to lift my lightweight S200 let alone shoulder it.

 

Anyway Chris (Woodworm1972) called round for our usual Friday forray to the Paddock and Cemetery. He drove me to the pharmacy to get my repeat script made up and I had (due to virtually no sleep for the last five days) intended just to have a kip while he did the shooting.

However I seemed to get another lease of life when we arrived. So I got my baby out and we set about checking zero. My first shots were going 6 to 7 inches High and a good 4 left Well I had to dismantle the her last Friday to take her to Swindon for the meet. Added to that I was now using a different silencer!

Chris had his gun hitting bull long before I did. I made the adjustments and got her almost P on P so we went for a wander. There were plenty of woodies flying around and we could hear loads of Corvids in the fields across the road. But we saw no bunnies in the area

A slow stalk from the cemetery inside the Paddock to Mrs G's aka Bunny Land! Not a sign of activity but looking at the size of Mrs G's Moggies now they are obviously keeping up their protien levels with bunnies, the black one looked like a fecking bodybuilding Panther on steroids

Finishing our initial patrol of the Paddock perimiter we saw a Kestral covering the entire paddock hovering against the wind and swooping from sector to sector comming down to almost head hieght only 15 yards away from us.

Not going to be many about with him/her hanging around the place but that didn't bother me it was pleasing to see such a stunning majestic predator of the skies

Later, much, much later i spotted what at first I thought was a dump of horse pucky (Joe has put 5 horses in the field again now). then it seemed to grow two vertical offshoots, a bit of breeze moved the clump of grass a little to the right, Chris was just about to go for another wander when I said "I see Winston" as I raised my baby to my eye he gingerly popped back into the scrub and no doubt back down his warren.

Chris went for another wander and I banged the LRF where the clump of grass was and it was 31yards.

Using the fence to rest my still painfull arm I began a wait with my eye at the scope, I knew the black bunny would be out again soon

Movement caught my eye right at the top of my scope a dot of black appeared and vanished again. Lifting my head away from the scope to check that one of the nags hadnt come over, I was chuffed to see a black rabbit hop out. This one was further out so I had to take the shot standing. My guess was 40 yards so 1.5 mildots over and as I pressed the trigger swiftly. All of a sudden a fiery pain went from my finger along my forearm and into my elbow and it gave out allowing the butt to sink slightly I saw the black rabbit drop as my scope was pulled away from my eye with the dropping rifle.

I recovered my baby before she hit the deck thank for that looking for the rabit I saw a long black lump on the grass so I laid my gun down on her bipod and climbed over the fence to collect what should have been a precision clean kill. I got there to find the rabbit a good half to three quater grown Doe, this one seemed odd, her eyes were closed I've never seen a dead head shot rabbit with its eyes closed before

So I picked up the bunny that was in very good condition with superb jet black thickening furr.

I pressed her belly to empty her bladder but nothing! All of a sudden the does eyes were open and she was trying to kick the hell out of me

ShIt she was clearly alive and now kicking. Grabbing her head with my right hand and her back legs with my left I immediately stretched her neck until I felt the the vertabrae snap, the burning pain in my right arm began almost instantly as I carried out the process. Looks like I need to see a doc before I go out again!

Having examined the head I could see that the pellet quite litterally grazed the skull cutting the skin in a long thin line across the side facing me but didnt crack the bone at all.

This shot more by luck than anything knocked this black rabbit unconcious long enough for me to get there.

I would have much preferred a clean kill of course, but on the other hand I would have preferred a totally clean miss to comming this close to what could have turned out to have been a wounding. Luckilly she didn't suffer

 

Here she is posed nicely in my hands

 

 

She's now in Salted water and her fur is also drying in salt I shall keep her skull as it appears to be fully intact

 

Shortly after Chris returned empty handed he had not seen even so much as a cotton tail flashing at him. We decided to call it a day as my arm was really starting to give me jip and so was Chris's back.

 

Just as we were packing up, we were treat to the sight of an old Dog Fox who kindly stopped long enough to check us out from about 30 yards, I tried to get him to come closer but even though he cocked his head at my squeaking he decided against comming to check it out and without a care in the world he continued on his merry way.

 

I'm glad I didn't decide to take a sleep

 

Tony

[Skull Hooker 185]

I got something like this in my shooting arm, but it doesn't sound quite as bad as yours.

Dr has diagnosed a rotator cuff injury, damage to the muscles wrapped around the shoulder joint.

Im going to ask him for the op after the end of the shooting season.

 

On the subject of the fat moggies..lead injection..they're ruining your sport